Method of operating oil stills



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6/5 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 3, 19 31.

BENJAMIN BROIDO, on NEW YORK, n. Y., Assranon TO THE Y i or new YonigjnY."

METHOD OF OPERATING OIL STILLS Application filed May 31,

The present invention relates to stills and similar apparatus'in whichoil, particularly Viscous oil, or other similar material, is heatedwhile being forced through the ap paratus. One of the objects ofthe'inventi'on is to provide a method for reducing the amount of workrequired to force the fluid through the apparatus or to reduce thepressure drop, if the same amount of power is used. Another object is toprovide an improved method for permitting gases liberated in one portionof the apparatus, where its presence is objectionable to escape toanother part where it will not interfere with the --function of theapparatus. A further object is to reduce the amount of deposition ofcarbonaceous and other solid material within the still. :Other objectswill appear from the following description. w 2

The invention is illustratedin the accompanying single sheet ofdrawings, in which Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view'of a still inwhich my invention :is used; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view ofa valve forming part of-my invention, a

The space within housing 1 is divided by partition Qinto the twoportions 3- and 4,

which communicate at thetop through opening 5. In the lower part ofspace 3 there is placed the oil burner 6. 7 is a connection to thestack.

Within this housing is arranged the still proper. It is divided into twosections, one of which fills the major portion of the space 4;, theother occupying the upper part of space 8. Each consists of a series ofpipes 8 connected in such a manner by return bonds or loops thatthe'flow of the liquid to be heated occurs successively through them ina serpentine path. The liquid enters at pipe 9, flows through theserpentine coil in the space 3, and leaves at its upper end. It flowsthence through pipe 10 tothe lower end of the serpentine coil in space4;, leaving it at the upper end through pipe 11.

The oil, or other liquidto be heated, enters the heating coils in acold, and therefore relatively very viscous state. Its frictionalresistance is correspondingly high, and the I quicker this can bereduced, the better.

1923. Serial No. 642,554.

While the advantages, froma thermo-dynamicstandpoint, of having theheating medium flow. in a direction opposite to that of the flow of themedium to be heated are appreciated by me, I purposely sacrifice them toa certain extent in my invention in order to secure other advantages,which, in the re.- la-tions mentioned, outweigh them in my opinion. Inthe space 4: the flow of the gases is downward, andthe fiow'of the oilis generally upward,and this arrangement is therefore in accordance withthe principle spoken of. .Butif the cold oil were introduced directly atthe lower end of'the coils in space 4' with thelidea of reducing thetemperature of the gases'to the lowest possible point, it would be foundthat, on account of the relatively cool gases encountered by the oil, acomparatively large number of coils would have to be traversed by itbefore its viscosity would be materially reduced. This involves a largeat a temperatureof F. is 1030; at 150 itis only 95. f Forcing a certainamount of this oil at 50, through a pipe of a given size and lengthresults in a pressure drop more than tentimesas great, as if theoil wereat' SUPERHEA'IER CQMPANY,

150. It istherefore highly desirable to raise the temperatureofthe oilthrough say the first '100degrees as quickly as possible.

1 My invention contemplates sending the oil first through a small numberof coils ex posed to the most. intense heat, of the furnace, the oilpreferably entering atthe point nearest the furnace, as in theillustrative form.

At this high temperature the.'viscosityis rapidly reduced to a pointwhere the oil flows freely, so that relatively little force is required'to move it throughthe stillr' -W ere the oil introduced into the coil.atthe point where; the gases are coolest, it would have to flowthroughlseveral times as many coils before attaining the sametemperature; As by far, theanost effort .ofthepump is ex.

pended in forcing the oil in its cool state,

and the effort after the first viscosity has been reduced is almostnegligible, the value of the arrangement will be obvious.- 7

One advantage is also incidentally ob tained, and may here be mentioned,and that is that the coils nearest the furnace, which are exposed to theseverest conditions, and which, With pure counterfiow, would have thehottest liquid on the inside, by the present arrangement have thecoolest liquid on the inside and are thereby more effectually protectedfrom overheating. More important is the advantage of reduction of amountof deposit of solids in the pipes. The combustion gases at the pointwhere oil is hottest,are somewhat reduced in temperature, and the finalheating occurs with a smaller temperature difference be-' tween oilandcombustion gases and with the walls therefore not so hotthan would bethe case if the gases struck the coils, in which the hottest oil isfound, directly after leaving the furnace. The effect of this is alessening of the deposition of carbon and other solid.

matters inthe coils wherethe oil is in its final heating stages. Y

- At the'outlet end of the coils inspace 8 there will at times be somegaseous constituents which have been liberated by the heating of the oiland are now mixed wit-hit in afree state. Their presence may result indisturbances in the circulation of the oil beyond thispoint,particularly the down-- Ward course in pipelO. A further feature .ofmyinvention has for its purpose the diswith pipe12 and the outlet D of thevalve I with pipe 11. The outlet D has formed on its inner end the seat-E of such shape that ball B will, when engaging the .seat, close theoutlet, as shown in the dottedoutline of the ball. F is an opening inthebody'A, closed by a plug G ,the purpose of the pluggedopen ing being'tomake possible the insertion or removalof the ball B. The portion of thevalve body inwhich the outlet D is formed, is somewhat higher than therest of the body, and the inside cavity of the valve body'is so theliquid, and will be at the upper cavity, and there it will be heldagainst its seat by the pressure of the liquid. This pressure will begreater than the pressure in pipe 11 by an amount equal to the pressuredrop experi enced by the liquid in flowing from the outlet'of the coilin space 3 to the outlet of the coil in space 4. The valve therefore efiectually shuts off any flow of liquid.-

If now any gases collect in'the outlet from the first coil and in pipe12, the ball B will leave its seat and fall into the position shown infull lines, thus opening passage D and permitting the escape of thegases to pipe 11. It should be noted that opening D is comparativelysmall and the slight unbalanced pressure on ball B is overcome by theweight of the ball, so that the valve opens promptly when gasesaccumulate. After the discharge of the gases the valve will again beseated and kept closed by the unbalanced pressure difference lVhile Ishow and describe only one form of valve to accomplish my purpose, I canobviously substitute some other form for it, if it performs the samefunction.

lVhat I claim is: j p The method of heating a viscous liquid by means ofa gaseous heating medium comprising the steps ofireducing the viscosityrapidly by initially imparting heat to the liquid while the heatingmedium is at a high temperature, thereafter completing the transfer ofheat from the medium to the liquid under counterflow conditions withoutpermitting any vapors to separate out from the liquid during such secondheating, removing auy'gaseous portions from the liquid at the end ofsaid initiallheating, and adding said gaseous portions to the liquid-at,the end of said second heating.

BENJAMIN. BROIDO.

shaped that the ball B may freely roll away 1 from the seat E under theinfluence of gravity, and occupy a position, as shown in'full lines, inwhich. it will not obstruct communication from pipe 12 to pipe 11. V Thematerial'and structure of the ball: B are such that the ball will floaton the liquid flowing through the still,'but is heavier than the gasthat may form in the first coil.

As long as pipe 12 and valvebody A are filled with the liquid theballBwill float in

